Daniel Hardwick, 35, is accused of using the shock collar on his son who is 12 years old.

Hardwick was charged with neglect or abandonment of a dependent person last week.

"One of the allegations in this investigation was that a parent had placed an animal shock collar around a child's neck and used that to encourage the child to do things within the home," said Knoxville Police Chief Dan Losada.

Losada said Hardwick was arrested Thursday after the state Department of Human Services contacted authorities.

Court records also said Hardwick placed the boy in a high chair near the street curb with a sign that read, "I refused to eat my big boy food. Please feed me, I'm hungry."

"It's just all very upsetting and heartbreaking," said Hardwick's girlfriend, Tanya Showers.

Hardwick told KCCI it was a big misunderstanding.

"A lot of it is false accusations on me, which a lot of it can't be fixed," said Hardwick.

Hardwick said with a house full of five boys, it was just their typical roughhousing.

"To me, it's fun and games you know, even though chores were a part of the deal. It's all fun and games, and when the 12-year-old is laughing about it, what can you do?" Hardwick said.

Hardwick said he understands he made a mistake putting the shock collar on his son, but he had no intention of shocking his child. The accusations have brought a lot of pain to his family.

"It's hurt a lot of my feelings, it's hurt a lot of my family. It's put me through hell, and with this being a small town, me being unemployed. It's going to be hard for me to even get a job in this town anymore," said Hardwick.

The alleged victim is now living with his grandmother.

"We're still hoping it's not true, but if it is true, this gentleman gets what he deserves when he goes through court and that's what we have court for," said Losada.

Hardwick will appear in court in August. If convicted, he faces a maximum of 10 years in prison.

Good evening, Todd magel in for Stacey tonight. It sounds unbelievable. Knoxville police say a man put a dog shock collar on his 12 year old son. But the father says it's all a big misunderstandi ng. KCCI's Ben Jordan has the story Kevin and Todd, it's a story we broke at 5. Police say 35 year old Daniel Hardwick used the collar to motivate his son to do chores. But tonight, Hardwick tells us, that's not the whole story. Last Thursday afternoon, Knoxville Police responded to this house after receiving a call from the Department of Human Services. 56:48 One of the allegations in this investigation was that a parent had placed an animal shock collar around a child's neck and used that to encourage the child to do things within the home. Court records say Daniel Hardwick also placed his 12 year old son in a high chair near the street curb with a sign asking for food. 5:30 It's just all very upsetting and heartbreaking. 11:00 While Knoxville Police charged Hardwick with child neglect he believes this was just a big misunderstanding. 7:00 A lot of it is false accusations on me which a lot of it can't be fixed. Hardwick says with a house full of 5 boys, this was just their typical rough-housing. 7:26 To me ... fun and games you know even though chores were a part of the deal you know it's all fun and games and when the 12 year old is laughing about it ... What can you do? Hardwick admitted to KCCI he understands he made a mistake putting the shock collar on his son, but said he had no intention of shocking his child. And the accusations have brought a lot of pain to his family. 8:03 It's hurt a lot of my feelings, it's hurt a lot of my family. It's put me through hell and with this being a small town me being unemployed. It's going to be hard for me to even get a job in this town anymore. The alleged victim is now living with his grandmother. 59:35 We're still hoping it's not true, but if it is true this gentleman gets what he deserves when he goes through court and that's what we have court for. Hardwick is facing charges of neglect or abandonment of a dependent person . He'll appear in court next month. We'll be watching to see what happens.

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